Minimal Wave Records

i just wanted to make a suggestion for a release: Laurent Boudic, who was part of the early-80s Belgian wave/EBM scene

i thought of it, because i figured it might be suitable for this Belgian comp discussed in another thread, although i’m not sure if it was released on cassette (or even at all)

my retired label, Suction Records, released an old track of his on our Snow Robots Volume 3 CD compilation, and had planned to put out a 7”, but it never happened. the track that we used on the comp “E=MC2” is an absolutely stunning proto-Aphex Twin track recorded in ‘81 i think (proto-Aphex Twin in the same way that Crash Course in Science is, but even more so)... heavily distorted drums (KR-55 i think), chunky analog-sequencer EBM basslines (prob MS-20/SQ-10), and lots of crazy distortion and delay… i think this track is nothing short of stunning and so unbelievably ahead of its time

anyway, he had other cool tracks too… if we weren’t being so picky (Suction wasn’t a re-issue label, we had a very different agenda), i think there was probably an EP’s or maybe even LP’s worth of cool stuff on the demo CDR that he sent to us, all of it recorded in the early to late 80s

probably not suitable for a more synthpop-y label, but for a label with some industrial leanings (Enfant Terrible?)

I know that track of your compilation of course! Very nice compilation and excellent track indeed…

And… I am always interested in hearing music / tracks I do not know yet…

that is funny, as just yesterday night i was spending almost one hour on the guy’s various web sites, especially due to my interest in his 79-89 cdr release.

unfortunately the material available did not convince me and i struggled so hard ...  but i guess the whole story is a big fake ... what’s your thoughts ? how old is the guy now ?

also, i am pretty much digusted by this symbolism shits and uniforms and all that crap ... what is more important here - the music or the show ?

here is the review on Snow Robots 3 I did back in 2003:
http://www.funprox.com/index.php/webzine-archive/reviews/2003_09/va-snow-robots-volume-3/

I also did a Dutch version here: http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/various-artists/snow-robots-volume-3/4126/

[quote author=“AnnaLogue”]that is funny, as just yesterday night i was spending almost one hour on the guy’s various web sites, especially due to my interest in his 79-89 cdr release.

unfortunately the material available did not convince me and i struggled so hard ...  but i guess the whole story is a big fake ... what’s your thoughts ? how old is the guy now ?

also, i am pretty much digusted by this symbolism shits and uniforms and all that crap ... what is more important here - the music or the show ?

Dorian Gray in his forties or fake…. I found myself struggling as well as the older images and music feel more modern retro than 80’s original to me.  :?

[quote author=“AnnaLogue”]that is funny, as just yesterday night i was spending almost one hour on the guy’s various web sites, especially due to my interest in his 79-89 cdr release.

wow that is strange! when i refer to the “demo” we received, it was exactly this CDR compilation… i don’t really consider a home made CDR to be a real release!

[quote author=“AnnaLogue”]unfortunately the material available did not convince me and i struggled so hard ...  but i guess the whole story is a big fake ... what’s your thoughts ? how old is the guy now ?

i don’t really think the material is right for Anna, just like it wasn’t really right for Suction… but there were 2 other tracks that we thought were worth releasing, for a 3-track 7”.... but i think some of the other material is definitely comparable to the stuff on the Doxa Sinestra LP… M i think you should check it out… my only motivation for writing this is because i would really love to have E=MC2 on vinyl

as for your question about the story being a fake… no way, it’s definitely old material.. some people may try to make recordings that sound exactly like 1981 with analog synths & drum machines, but nobody is going to try to make fake ‘87-‘89 EBM with all of those “wow look what a sampler can do” (n-n-n-nineteen) cliches from that mostly-best-forgotten era….. all of the stuff sounds 110% authentic to my ears, especially when you compare it to the material he produces now

anyway, the guy wasn’t even some kind of 80s-music freak—he was really pushing for us to release his newer material, which was like very modern, too-slick electro

[quote author=“AnnaLogue”]also, i am pretty much digusted by this symbolism shits and uniforms and all that crap ... what is more important here - the music or the show ?

i understand, this kind of symbolism is sensitive for germans… but in fact it’s Soviet symbolism he’s got going on, no different than Man-Machine, so i wouldn’t put too much worry into it. anyway, that’s his new image… all of his ‘80s photos look cool IMO - total early-EBM / 242

[quote author=“solvent”]
[quote author=“AnnaLogue”]also, i am pretty much digusted by this symbolism shits and uniforms and all that crap ... what is more important here - the music or the show ?

i understand, this kind of symbolism is sensitive for germans… but in fact it’s Soviet symbolism he’s got going on, no different than Man-Machine, so i wouldn’t put too much worry into it. anyway, that’s his new image… all of his ‘80s photos look cool IMO - total early-EBM / 242

Sorry to wake up from my winter sleep. Couldn’t resist answering this.
I don’t think this so called “Soviet” symbolism represents anything better then the German symbolism you are refering to.
Kraftwerks Man Machine cover is not at all in the same style.

So I agree with Marc here.

Ton

[quote author=“solvent”]

as for your question about the story being a fake… no way, it’s definitely old material.. some people may try to make recordings that sound exactly like 1981 with analog synths & drum machines, but nobody is going to try to make fake ‘87-‘89 EBM with all of those “wow look what a sampler can do” (n-n-n-nineteen) cliches from that mostly-best-forgotten era….. all of the stuff sounds 110% authentic to my ears, especially when you compare it to the material he produces now

You’d be surprised. There is a whole market and scene out there for retro sounding EBM. Some of them sound and look exactly like it still is 1989.

[quote author=“AirCrashBureau”][quote author=“solvent”]

as for your question about the story being a fake… no way, it’s definitely old material.. some people may try to make recordings that sound exactly like 1981 with analog synths & drum machines, but nobody is going to try to make fake ‘87-‘89 EBM with all of those “wow look what a sampler can do” (n-n-n-nineteen) cliches from that mostly-best-forgotten era….. all of the stuff sounds 110% authentic to my ears, especially when you compare it to the material he produces now

You’d be surprised. There is a whole market and scene out there for retro sounding EBM. Some of them sound and look exactly like it still is 1989.

hm.. i’m not into ebm that much at the moment but i never heard of the current bands who copy that particular 1988/89 sound (a-la insekt and other early sampler/pcm synth stuff).. the only thing i know is “anhalt” (or whatever they call it) thing.. but it sounds to me like beer/polka version of nitzer ebb’s that total age rather than insekt or vomito negro.. could u make things a bit clearer please ?

regardless, this was not the case with Boudic… he wasn’t some kind of old-music purist from what i could tell. he happened to be making EBM music at the time and if you listen to it, it really sounds like the kind of thing that nobody would do in modern times if they wanted to revisit that old-EBM sound…. like there is this voice sample “Body Works” and he dos the whole “Body Body B-B-Bodyworks” and even plays it pitched way up and way down on the keyboard. only when samplers were new and novel would someone pull that move. even if it’s possible that someone would, it’s obvious beyond that, when you listen to the recordings that they’re authentic. i am 110% sure that it is real ‘80s material

[quote author=“AirCrashBureau”][quote author=“solvent”]

as for your question about the story being a fake… no way, it’s definitely old material.. some people may try to make recordings that sound exactly like 1981 with analog synths & drum machines, but nobody is going to try to make fake ‘87-‘89 EBM with all of those “wow look what a sampler can do” (n-n-n-nineteen) cliches from that mostly-best-forgotten era….. all of the stuff sounds 110% authentic to my ears, especially when you compare it to the material he produces now

You’d be surprised. There is a whole market and scene out there for retro sounding EBM. Some of them sound and look exactly like it still is 1989.

i don’t get what you mean Tom. the Boudic look is definitely not as tasteful as Kraftwerk’s Man-Machine, but both are derived from Soviet imagery and symbolism

for the record, i don’t disagree with Marc in any way… he’s put off by the imagery and that’s his call. i’m just saying that technically there is nothing offensive about Soviet imagery

i agree that the new Boudic imagery is not cool, for sure… but you could make a release of his old material and just use his old EBM-look photos, and i think that would look cool

[quote author=“ton”][quote author=“solvent”]
[quote author=“AnnaLogue”]also, i am pretty much digusted by this symbolism shits and uniforms and all that crap ... what is more important here - the music or the show ?

i understand, this kind of symbolism is sensitive for germans… but in fact it’s Soviet symbolism he’s got going on, no different than Man-Machine, so i wouldn’t put too much worry into it. anyway, that’s his new image… all of his ‘80s photos look cool IMO - total early-EBM / 242

Sorry to wake up from my winter sleep. Couldn’t resist answering this.
I don’t think this so called “Soviet” symbolism represents anything better then the German symbolism you are refering to.
Kraftwerks Man Machine cover is not at all in the same style.

So I agree with Marc here.

Ton

dear J.,

first of all, sorry, i think i didn’t get the topic title right. by replying to this topic i did not mean to imply an interest to actually release any of the music of Laurent Boudic. i was somehow browsing and found out about this CDR,a nd thought it might have been a nice addition to Anna’s online shop, no more and no less.

[quote author=“solvent”]wow that is strange! when i refer to the “demo” we received, it was exactly this CDR compilation… i don’t really consider a home made CDR to be a real release!

while having a catalogue number GenComProdukts International GPI-003 and while i think you can order it from the label, what other than a release shall it be called then?

[quote author=“solvent”]i don’t really think the material is right for Anna

yes, and as explained above -i think i didn’t read your topic title with the right amount of focus, hehe.

[quote author=“solvent”]as for your question about the story being a fake… no way, it’s definitely old material.. some people may try to make recordings that sound exactly like 1981 with analog synths & drum machines, but nobody is going to try to make fake ‘87-‘89 EBM with all of those

i am not going to listen to it again, but J. this is no argument. of course, you can exactly reproduce any sound, especially electronic, and while the instruments are still available.

[quote author=“solvent”]anyway, the guy wasn’t even some kind of 80s-music freak—he was really pushing for us to release his newer material, which was like very modern, too-slick electro

i’d say it’S only fair trying to promote his current stuff.

[quote author=“solvent”]i understand, this kind of symbolism is sensitive for germans…

hahaha, thanks for the good laugh! it is funny that you imply that us germans may have a problem with it. well, i can only speak for myself, i don’t, i just think it’s nonsense.

[quote author=“solvent”]but in fact it’s Soviet symbolism he’s got going on

to me it does not make any difference, really. i wouldn’t want to belong to any social movement, party, country, association, religion, scene, race or
whatever. i prefer individualism and looking at people as individuals. by adapting symbols and wearing uniforms, you give up your individual status and your identity. i do not want that for myself, but that is only me. feel free to decide for yourself.

as my closing comment, another word on the musical side of things: looking at the CDR again, Laurent seems to be the inventor of any genre of ours:

in 1979 he recorded a track called “MinimalBodyWorks” and “Electronic Combat Zone”- wow he seems to have preceeded anyone by using the terms “minimal”, and “body” .... Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb were still notin sight at all ... i am only glad it wasn’t before 1979 as then Daniel Miller and The Human League might have looked like copycats….

then he was in the forefront of Industrial music, too: “Necropsy”, “1939”, and “In Nomine Dei Nostri” exactly using the very same clichés as his musical genre mates? pffff ... he could have been more inventive i had hoped ....

okay, so after inventing “Minimal Electronics” and “Industrial”, we should also credit him for inventing “Electronic Body Music”, oh boy, here is creativity at work!

and then the pictures of him, F242 glasses and haircut, photos on a graveyard ... hmm, somehow i think that there was a copycat at work, and happened here - don’t ask me how many years he had to look back, and actually i don’t mind. also, who am i to critisize? i do not even want to spend my time on this and write this. these were just some thoughts coming to my mind, and this is where the chapter closes for me.

(btw, i hope you see me being a bit sarcastic here - we shouldn’t take it too serious - only thing that bothers me: i do not like being fooled! so, being careful and scrutinising is only fair, no?)

[quote author=“deutschmark”][quote author=“AirCrashBureau”][quote author=“solvent”]

as for your question about the story being a fake… no way, it’s definitely old material.. some people may try to make recordings that sound exactly like 1981 with analog synths & drum machines, but nobody is going to try to make fake ‘87-‘89 EBM with all of those “wow look what a sampler can do” (n-n-n-nineteen) cliches from that mostly-best-forgotten era….. all of the stuff sounds 110% authentic to my ears, especially when you compare it to the material he produces now

You’d be surprised. There is a whole market and scene out there for retro sounding EBM. Some of them sound and look exactly like it still is 1989.

hm.. i’m not into ebm that much at the moment but i never heard of the current bands who copy that particular 1988/89 sound (a-la insekt and other early sampler/pcm synth stuff).. the only thing i know is “anhalt” (or whatever they call it) thing.. but it sounds to me like beer/polka version of nitzer ebb’s that total age rather than insekt or vomito negro.. could u make things a bit clearer please ?

There is nothing wrong with a bit of “Schweiss, Bier und StahL” every now and then. But Nitzer Ebb is back with a new and very good album.
Insekt and Vomito Negro were a league of their own. I don’t see a band copying that sound.

[quote author=“AirCrashBureau”][quote author=“deutschmark”]hm.. i’m not into ebm that much at the moment but i never heard of the current bands who copy that particular 1988/89 sound (a-la insekt and other early sampler/pcm synth stuff).. the only thing i know is “anhalt” (or whatever they call it) thing.. but it sounds to me like beer/polka version of nitzer ebb’s that total age rather than insekt or vomito negro.. could u make things a bit clearer please ?

There is nothing wrong with a bit of “Schweiss, Bier und StahL” every now and then. But Nitzer Ebb is back with a new and very good album.
Insekt and Vomito Negro were a league of their own. I don’t see a band copying that sound.

i think i got you wrong then… to me the sound of 1988 which you was talking about is essentialy re-triggering samples over crappy pcm beats and fm basses thing (not nitzer ebb nor schweiss/stahl/orange sector/blablabla). the only thing that comes to my mind is some band from the beginning of the 2000s, i think it was called plastic assault or something… they were copying front line assembly’s caustic grip very faithfully

[quote author=“deutschmark”][quote author=“AirCrashBureau”][quote author=“deutschmark”]hm.. i’m not into ebm that much at the moment but i never heard of the current bands who copy that particular 1988/89 sound (a-la insekt and other early sampler/pcm synth stuff).. the only thing i know is “anhalt” (or whatever they call it) thing.. but it sounds to me like beer/polka version of nitzer ebb’s that total age rather than insekt or vomito negro.. could u make things a bit clearer please ?

There is nothing wrong with a bit of “Schweiss, Bier und StahL” every now and then. But Nitzer Ebb is back with a new and very good album.
Insekt and Vomito Negro were a league of their own. I don’t see a band copying that sound.

i think i got you wrong then… to me the sound of 1988 which you was talking about is essentialy re-triggering samples over crappy pcm beats and fm basses thing (not nitzer ebb nor schweiss/stahl/orange sector/blablabla). the only thing that comes to my mind is some band from the beginning of the 2000s, i think it was called plastic assault or something… they were copying front line assembly’s caustic grip very faithfully

Oh yeah, there are hords of FLA and Skinny Puppy clones out there.

To get back on solvent’s point on copying certain sounds one more time, here’s one band example that probably most of us must know:
Delphic.
They copied 80’s New Order sound so closely, that if you didn’t know any better, you’d swear you were listening to a shelved, forgotten, refound New Order album.

hey marc,

of course, i take no offense to anything you are saying… and i def didn’t mean to be offensive or ignorant about the “sensitive for germans” comment—it is something that i have come across many times in my dealings and friendships with germans. it doesn’t make me qualified to attribute this trait to you though, so sorry that i was offbase with that!

back to Boudic… wow i didn’t really think about all of these aspects that you’re saying about the music being so “ahead of its time” in all these ways… you know what though? my ears still tell me - 110% for sure these are authentic ‘80s-recorded tracks.

also:

Front242 shades… if he was part of the Belgian scene where 242 etc came from, it’s really not hard to believe that he would have adopted this look - the photo is not dated anywhere, so for all we know, it is late ‘80s

MinimalBodyWorks—regarding “Body” - this wasn’t a ‘79 track, it was one of his later-80s tracks, so he was just taking his obvious cues from Nitzer, DAF etc .... regarding “Minimal” - i don’t see any evidence that this was some kind of reference to “Minimal Wave” or whatever genre…. we got this CDR as a demo @ Suction in 2001 or something… i don’t think this “minimal” thing was even really a genre at this point that anyone would care to capitalize on… at this point it was like 100 collectors in the world or something, and maybe some of them would call it “minimal synth” i guess? i’m just guessing, but i can say for sure that it’s nothing like where it is now in terms of being a known entity or genre

the only innovation i give him is for E=MC2, which like Crash Course in Science, is remarkable in it’s ahead-of-it’s-time use of distorted drum machines, pointing ahead to Dive, and more notably, Aphex Twin / Rephlex style techno

anyway, let’s forget about theorizing…. i’d like for some others here to check out the Laurent Boudic material and pls tell us whether it sounds authentic to you….. i will stick to what my ears are telling me, regardless, but i’m curious what others think